Those who have fond memories of playing Club Penguin as kids are probably going to have to find another nostalgia-fueled title to get sentimental about. The Club Penguin Island shutdown is official; developers working for Disney Canada on the project have lost their jobs working on the mobile heir to the main game. Now it looks like the franchise won’t be revitalized, as employees who were working on the game have been let go as part of what their HR department describes as a “cost-cutting” measure.
Club Penguin was a real staple of modern entertainment for children in the early 2000s up until its eventual closure in 2007. Club Penguin Island was meant to help take the game onto mobile devices and to expand the reach of the franchise. Judging by these workplace troubles, that doesn’t appear to have materialized. Yes, Disney Canada laid off a bunch of workers recently, and the timing could not have been worse considering other issues around hiring and firing in the games industry.
However, regardless of the reason why those employees were terminated, the fact remains that a true icon of the electronic age will be lost of us very soon. According to a report by GameDaily, Club Penguin Island will bid everyone adios at the end of 2018, and this is confirmed by their public statement on the matter. This version of everyone’s favorite penguin escapades didn’t feel like it lasted anywhere near as long as the original game, nor did it garner the same public interest.
That being said, we always find it sad when a community has to shut down, regardless of size. There hasn’t quite been another game like Club Penguin, but maybe 2019 will be able to change that. If you’re someone who’s played Club Penguin Island and you want to share your time in the game with us before the title becomes inaccessible, our comments section is wide open.
